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Session 6 recap final

Principal Characters

Chapter 6: The Eternal Winter of Caldersett Hollow

Travelling north through Misty Vale, the party expected a routine journey. Instead, the weather turned violently against them. Snow fell where late summer should have ruled, quickly becoming a blinding blizzard that swallowed the forest whole.

Using her bushcraft skills, Ariana guided the party to shelter: a small, snowbound village called Caldersett Hollow. Most of it lay dark and abandoned, save for a single lit building—the tavern known as The Bracken Rest.

Inside, the villagers clustered around a weak fire. The tavern’s owner, Elric Bracken, explained that this unnatural winter had already lasted five days. Food was scarce, but the party was fed nonetheless. As they ate, Elric told them why the village existed at all.

Long ago, a powerful winter spirit threatened to freeze all of Misty Vale. A shaman, known as the Keeper of the Pact, appeased her through an ancient ritual performed at a shrine atop a nearby hill. That ritual had been repeated every fifty years—until belief faded. The last Keeper, Joram, had died a month ago. His apprentice, Young Keeper Neil, had been convinced the ritual was no longer necessary.

The blizzard proved otherwise.

Now desperate, the villagers asked the party to escort Neil to the shrine and protect him while he performed the ritual. Wolves prowled the hills, the climb was dangerous, and the spirit itself was said to be enraged—but without help, Caldersett Hollow would not survive.

The party prepared quickly. Fur cloaks were issued against the cold. Munin sharpened weapons at the village forge. Arasin acquired an old black grimoire. Additional packs were purchased to carry supplies. Elric also promised an heirloom as reward—revealing a troubling discovery. The item was a key fragment, identical to one the party already possessed. Now they held two matching sets, with no way to know which was real.

They set out into the storm.

The climb was brutal. Wolves howled below, forcing the party to move quickly at first—too quickly. Slips on the icy slope sent several adventurers tumbling, armour offering no protection against the fall. Chastened, they slowed their pace and pressed on.

The wolves attacked but were driven back. Near the summit, snow golems rose from the ground itself, hammering the party with avalanches and crushing blows that ignored armour entirely. The fighting drained their strength and willpower, but eventually the golems fell and the wolves retreated.

At the hilltop, the party paused to rest.

During the ascent, tragedy struck. Young Keeper Neil was caught in an avalanche and killed. Arasin tried to save him, but it was too late. Hope remained, however—among Neil’s belongings were the ritual instructions and the censer required to perform it.

Beyond the trees stood the shrine: an exposed stone altar, open to the storm.

As the party approached, eight more snow golems emerged. Then the source of the winter revealed herself—a towering figure of ice and rage emerged: the Winter Spirit, taking the form of a frost-clad woman. She wailed as the blizzard intensified, striking at anyone who dared approach.

The battle was desperate. Grim’s hammer shattered ice and snow alike. Moby struck from the shadows. Sorilea unleashed elemental fury. Munin and Golden fought toe-to-toe with an enemy that refused to stay dead.

Though she could be struck down, she reformed again and again, each time strengthening the storm.

It became clear the spirit could not be killed.

While the others fought to hold the shrine, Arasin stepped onto the ritual stone. Precious moments were lost lighting the censer, but once begun, the chant could not stop. Three times the words were spoken, then bowed to, then spoken again—over and over—while snow and ice crashed down around them.

At last, the ritual was completed.

The snow golems melted away. The Winter Spirit dissolved, her rage spent. The blizzard ceased, sunlight breaking through the clouds. A final apparition of the spirit appeared—calm, satisfied—before vanishing entirely.

The eternal winter was over.

The party returned to Caldersett Hollow as saviours. Arasin passed the ritual knowledge on to the remaining young apprentice of the Pact, ensuring the village would not forget again. Sorilea, moved by the loss, gave coin to Neil’s grieving parents.

With Caldersett Hollow freed from the storm, the road through Misty Vale lay open once more.